According to Fortune, actor and writer Natasha Lyonne has launched an AI film company called Asteria Film Co. The company uses an AI model built for filmmaking called Moonvalley to create ambitious films on independent budgets. Lyonne discussed the venture at Fortune’s Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco, arguing that creatives must figure out how to use AI to their benefit. She dismissed the recent industry panic over AI-generated “actress” Tilly Norwood as a distraction and a fear tactic. Lyonne, known for Russian Doll and Orange Is the New Black, emphasized her concern for Hollywood crews, cast, and unions amidst executive-level AI talk.
Lyonne’s pragmatic AI take
Here’s the thing: Lyonne’s move is fascinating because it comes from inside the house. It’s not a tech bro swooping in to “disrupt” Hollywood. It’s someone who’s been on sets since she was four, saying, “Look, this tool exists, and if we don’t learn to wield it, someone else will—and they probably won’t care about the Teamsters.” Her point about the marketing department already using AI is a killer insight. You can be a purist in your creative process, but the machine is already humming in the background, shaping how your work is sold and seen. So what does “AI-free” even mean in that context?
The Tilly Norwood distraction
“I’m not sweating Tilly Norwood.” I love that line. It cuts through the hype and fear-mongering. The industry gets fixated on these symbolic bogeymen—a fake AI actress—while the real structural changes, like studios using AI for script analysis or pre-viz, happen quietly. Lyonne’s basically saying the Norwood story is chaos, a shiny object meant to scare artists while executives make bigger, quieter plans. And she’s probably right. The real future of AI in Hollywood isn’t a digital face; it’s in the pipeline, the budget sheet, and the editing suite, as explored in pieces like this one on generative AI’s role.
A shift in the AI narrative
This feels like a potential turning point. When respected creatives start engaging with AI pragmatically, it moves the conversation from “ban it” to “shape it.” The tension Lyonne mentions—the “rarefied air of the C-suite versus the rest”—is the core issue. Will AI be a tool that empowers artists to tell stories they couldn’t afford before? Or will it just be a cost-cutting lever for executives? Asteria Film Co. seems like an experiment to prove the former is possible. But it’s a tough road. For every indie filmmaker using AI to expand their vision, there’s a studio looking to trim a VFX budget or generate a first-draft script.
The broader picture
Lyonne’s story is part of a bigger week where women in leadership were central, for better or worse. We saw A’ja Wilson named Time’s Athlete of the Year and call out the WNBA commissioner’s distance, a reminder that leadership visibility matters. Sadly, we also lost a beloved voice with the death of author Sophie Kinsella. And in business, the data shows female CEOs, who are still rare (just look at the Fortune 500 numbers), face disproportionate activist criticism. It’s a messy backdrop. Lyonne’s push is, in a way, about claiming agency in a system that often sidelines creative voices. She’s not waiting for permission. And in an industry facing down AI, that might be the only play that works.
